Local states of emergency declared for Cape Breton Regional Municipality, County of Victoria

A local state of emergency has been declared for Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) and Victoria County amid widespread power outages, road closures, displaced residents and structural damage as Post-Tropical Storm Fiona moves through the island on Saturday morning.

Peter Gregg, president and CEO of Nova Scotia Power, says a satellite emergency operations center will open in Sydney, acting as the second command center for the one in Halifax.

Residents of the island are being asked to shelter in place. If shelter has failed, call 911 for evacuation. A Red Cross emergency shelter opened at 8pm Friday at the 200 Center in Sydney for anyone seeking shelter.

CBRM Mayor Amanda MacDougall says they were unable to open all of the planned comfort centers (additional centers were added Saturday) due to damage to the sites, including downed live wires. She added that many of the center’s volunteers are also first responders who have been on the ground since Fiona struck. She says an updated list of centers will be provided shortly, but she asks residents to wait to travel to them until they are given the “green light that they are ready to operate.”

Comfort centers will open when officials declare local travel safe.

Cape Breton residents Arlene and Robert Grafilo fled to Center 200 with their children, ages 3 and 10, after a massive tree fell on their duplex apartment, trapping them in their basement.

“We heard a lot of noise outside and then we realized there were a lot of cracks in the house and we looked outside and saw that the tree had fallen,” said Arlene Grafilo, 43.

“We were trapped and couldn’t open the doors and windows, so we decided to call 911. The children were scared,” he said, adding that firefighters eventually rescued them.

“It is currently unsafe to travel. Power lines and downed trees are a major hazard. Please stay safe,” CBRM Communications Officer Christina Lamey wrote Saturday morning.

“The first responders are really under pressure right now. We want people to stay off the roads.”

MacDougall says the township is littered with “a lot of damage.”

“Houses have lost their roofs, there are a lot of downed trees that are causing structural damage, there are power lines and power poles everywhere, so travel is very, very difficult right now. Frankly, it’s almost impossible.” she said.

MacDougall says it was decided that keeping as many people at home as possible would be the safest thing for everyone.

“There is no place that has been spared. I see photos of Louisbourg, on the north side, there are houses that have literally collapsed,” he said. “We have a shelter in place for people who need to evacuate. That’s in Sydney. We also need to make sure there are places that are safe to travel that people can get to.”

In a press release sent out at 2 p.m. Saturday, Cape Breton Regional Police said they were seeing a significant number of vehicles traveling on unsafe roads, littered with downed trees, power lines and other debris.

According to the police force, there were more than 70 roads throughout the municipality that were compromised and impassable at the time.

“The additional vehicles create more danger for the emergency services. Shelter in place and stay off roadways until Public Works and Nova Scotia crews can clean up for safer driving conditions,” the statement read.

During a live press conference on Saturday, Halifax Mayor Mike Savage spoke on behalf of CBRM Mayor Amanda MacDougall, who was unable to join the conference due to connectivity issues.

He shared a statement from Mayor MacDougall that read, in part, “The last 24 hours have been surreal. We are still in the midst of the hurricane with wind speeds maintaining significant levels, and our crews on the ground trying to triage emergency and take care of our neighbors in need.

“Power outages are huge, cell phone service is now unreliable, and travel in the region is dangerous.”

According to the mayor, a local state of emergency in the CBRM was declared due to downed lines, trees, flying debris, and the large number of people in need of support.

“We are making steady progress on the hundreds of people who have been displaced due to the storm. Surprisingly, so far there have been no injuries from the hurricane,” the mayor’s statement read.


With archives from The Canadian Press.


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